Cal Poly Theism, a new religious studies club, became an official club on campus winter quarter.
The club is affiliated with Cal Poly’s religious studies program and focuses on the education of religions worldwide.
“Our goal is to sustain and help religious education in a neutral environment so that people can learn about other faiths, or some aspect of a faith, that they haven’t been exposed to before,” said Craig Weitzel, president of Cal Poly Theism and business junior.
“Basically, it is education without evangelization. It’s learning about something just for the sake of learning, without wanting or needing to convert to a specific faith.”
Although the club became chartered this quarter, it officially began meeting and hosting presentations during fall quarter.
“There are definitely religious clubs on campus focused toward a specific denomination, and that is great, but our goal is to foster awareness and diversity toward a faith that might not normally get to much attention,” Weitzel said.
Cal Poly Theism is the first club on campus to focus on all religions from a neutral standpoint.
This month Cal Poly Theism plans to present Stephanie Stillman, a Cal Poly religious studies professor, to discuss her analysis on the religious aftermath of Columbine.
The club strives to discuss and present on every religion, especially those that are not as popular on campus, Weitzel said.
“No religion is out-of-bounds,” Weitzel said. “Just about any angle you can take on religion is one that we would be interested in. Anything that can be academic about religion, and that is about everything.”
Next month, the club will focus presentations and meetings on the Christian faith.
“We hope to have a pretty lasting legacy within the campus,” Weitzel said. “We want to be a neutral ground where we can serve as a conduit of other faiths, where we can potentially host debates if you will. We just want to be a neutral group on campus and serve as a balanced view point. If we achieve that mission, where we are recognized as a neutral ground to learn religion from an academic standpoint, then I would definitely call the club a success.”
Approximately 12 other religious clubs take place on campus, according to the Cal Poly Web site. Each of these clubs focuses on a specific religious idea.
For example, the Muslim Student Association hosts events like Islam Awareness Week and an open house at their local mosque in order to educate students about Muslim beliefs and Islamic culture.
“We focus on educating ourselves and other people about Islam, especially because there are a lot of stereotypes,” said Naiyerah Kolkailah, Muslim Student Association board member and biology senior.
By providing religious clubs on campus, students have the opportunity to become aware of new cultures and ideas that exist in the world, Kolkailah said.
“Here we have a small Muslim community, and whatever you don’t know about you tend to fear,” Kolkailah said. “So seeing that there are Muslims on campus and that we do have a voice and we do have a perspective, is important.”
Other religious clubs, like Hillel, a national Jewish organization, focuses on creating a religious community for students to turn to when they are away from family.
“The Jewish community at Cal Poly is not very big, so we aim to make a place for Jewish kids to come to when they are away from home for the first time,” Ari Dekofsky, president of Hillel and business sophomore said.
The Orthodox Christian Fellowship club hosts meetings on campus to discuss Jesus Christ in a way of focusing on Orthodox beliefs, said George Katsanis, president of Orthodox Christian Fellowship and mechanical engineer senior.
Cal Poly Theism focuses on educating students about these religions and many more. The club hosts monthly presentations with practitioners and religious studies scholars.
“Last month we had two Hindu teachers present who were followers of a specific Hindu guru,” Weitzel said. “The month before we had a Buddhist monk come speak to us on campus.”
The group is currently working to bring a Bahá’i speaker to campus, Weitzel said. By bringing new beliefs and cultures to campus, they hope students will become more aware and interested in the study of religion.
“Almost every religion has some misconceptions and that can lead to conflict,” Weitzel said. “So, to have a neutral understanding ultimately turns out to be a much more peaceful path.”
Additional information on upcoming Cal Poly Theism events can be found on their Web site at www.cla.calpoly.edu.